LabVIEW Upgrade Notes (2015) - National Instruments

LabVIEW™ Upgrade NotesThese upgrade notes describe the process of upgrading LabVIEW for Windows, OS X, and Linux toLabVIEW 2015. Before you upgrade, read this document for information about the following topics:• The recommended process for upgrading LabVIEW• Potential compatibility issues you should know about prior to loading any VIs you saved in a

previous version of LabVIEW• New features and behavior changes in LabVIEW 2015

ContentsUpgrading to LabVIEW 2015...............................................................................................................1

1. Back Up Your VIs and Machine Configuration........................................................................22. Test and Record the Existing Behavior of Your VIs.................................................................33. Install LabVIEW, Add-Ons, and Device Drivers.....................................................................44. Convert Your VIs and Address Behavior Changes...................................................................4Troubleshooting Common Upgrade Issues...................................................................................6

Upgrade and Compatibility Issues........................................................................................................6Upgrading from LabVIEW 2009 or Earlier..................................................................................6Upgrading from LabVIEW 2010..................................................................................................6Upgrading from LabVIEW 2011..................................................................................................8Upgrading from LabVIEW 2012..................................................................................................9Upgrading from LabVIEW 2013................................................................................................12Upgrading from LabVIEW 2014................................................................................................13

LabVIEW 2015 Features and Changes...............................................................................................14Adding Custom Items to Shortcut Menus...................................................................................14Improvements to Adding or Reducing Space on the Front Panel or Block Diagram.................15Probe Enhancements...................................................................................................................16Hyperlinks in Free Labels...........................................................................................................16Creating Actor Framework Actor and Message Classes............................................................16Front Panel Enhancements..........................................................................................................17Environment Enhancements.......................................................................................................17New and Changed VIs and Functions.........................................................................................18Application Builder Enhancements............................................................................................19New and Changed Classes, Properties, Methods, and Events....................................................20

Features and Changes in Previous Versions of LabVIEW..................................................................21

Upgrading to LabVIEW 2015Although you can upgrade small applications to a new version of LabVIEW by installing the new versionand then loading your VIs, National Instruments recommends a more rigorous upgrade process to ensurethat you can detect and correct upgrade difficulties as efficiently as possible.

Tip This process is especially beneficial for large LabVIEW applications that control or monitorcritical operations; cannot afford extended down time; use multiple modules, toolkits, or drivers;or are saved in an unsupported version of LabVIEW. Refer to the National Instruments website

at ni.com/info and enter the Info Code lifecycle for information about which versions ofLabVIEW still receive mainstream support.

Overview of the Recommended Upgrade Process

By protecting the VIs and development machine,you ensure that you can restore your files and restart

the upgrade process if necessary.

Back Up Your VIs andMachine Configuration

By verifying the baseline behavior of the VIs in theprevious version of LabVIEW, you can better detect

any behavior changes caused by upgrading.

Test and Recordthe Existing Behavior of

Your VIs

Upgrading all your NI software at the same timeensures that upgraded VIs can locate the required subVIs, palettes,

and Property Nodes in the new version of LabVIEW.

InstallLabVIEW, Add-Ons, and

Device Drivers

By converting and testing your VIs immediatelyafter upgrading, you can confirm that the VIs still behave as

expected and proactively correct any behavior changes.

Convert Your VIsand Address Behavior

Changes

By protecting the VIs and development machine,you ensure that you can restore your files and restart

the upgrade process if necessary.

By verifying the baseline behavior of the VIs in theprevious version of LabVIEW, you can better detect

any behavior changes caused by upgrading.

Upgrading all your NI software at the same timeensures that upgraded VIs can locate the required subVIs, palettes,

and Property Nodes in the new version of LabVIEW.

By converting and testing your VIs immediatelyafter upgrading, you can confirm that the VIs still behave as

expected and proactively correct any behavior changes.

Figure 1.

Note To upgrade from LabVIEW 5.1 or earlier, you must first upgrade to an intermediateversion of LabVIEW. Refer to the National Instruments website at ni.com/info and enterthe Info Code upgradeOld for more information about upgrading from your specific legacyversion of LabVIEW.

1. Back Up Your VIs and Machine ConfigurationBy protecting a copy of your VIs and, if possible, the configuration of your development or productionmachine before upgrading to LabVIEW 2015, you ensure that you can restore your VIs to their previousfunctionality and restart the upgrade process if necessary.

a. Back Up Your VIsIf you back up your VIs before you upgrade LabVIEW, you can quickly revert to the back-up copy.Without the back-up copy, you can no longer open upgraded VIs in the previous version of LabVIEWwithout saving each VI for the previous version.

You can back up a set of VIs using either of the following methods:• Submit VIs to source code control—This action allows you to revert to this version of the VIs if

you cannot address behavior changes caused by upgrading the VIs. For more information aboutusing source code control with LabVIEW, refer to the Fundamentals»Working with Projectsand Targets»Concepts»Using Source Control in LabVIEW topic on the Contents tab of theLabVIEW Help.

LabVIEW Upgrade Notes 2 ni.com

• Create a copy of the VIs—Create a copy of the VIs according to how they are organized:– Saved as a project—Open the project and select File»Save As to duplicate the .lvproj file

and all project contents. Ensure that you also maintain a copy of the files on which the projectdepends by selecting Include all dependencies.

– Saved as an LLB or as VIs in a directory—From the file explorer of your operating system,create a copy of the LLB or directory and store it at a different location from the original. Toprevent possible naming conflicts, avoid storing the copy on the same hard drive.

b. Back Up Your Machine ConfigurationInstalling a new version of LabVIEW updates shared files in ways that sometimes affect the behaviorof VIs even in previous versions. However, after you update those shared files, it is very difficult torestore the previous versions of the files. Therefore, consider one of the following methods for backingup the configuration of NI software on your development machine, especially if you are upgrading froman unsupported version of LabVIEW or if down time for your applications would be costly:• Create a back-up image of the machine configuration—Use disk imaging software to preserve

the disk state of the machine before you upgrade, including installed software, user settings, andfiles. To return the machine to its original configuration after you upgrade, deploy the back-up diskimage.

• Test the upgrade process on a test machine—Although upgrading on a test machine requiresmore time than creating a back-up image, National Instruments strongly recommends this approachif you need to prevent or minimize down time for machines that control or monitor production.After resolving any issues that result from upgrading on the test machine, you can either replacethe production machine with the test machine or replicate the upgrade process on the productionmachine.

Tip To minimize the possibility that upgraded VIs on the test machine behave differentlythan on the development machine, use a test machine that matches the features of thedevelopment machine as closely as possible, including CPU, RAM, operating system, andversions of software.

2. Test and Record the Existing Behavior of Your VIsWhen you upgrade VIs, improvements between the previous version of LabVIEW and LabVIEW 2015can occasionally change the behavior of the VIs. If you test the VIs in both versions, you can comparethe results to detect behavior changes specifically caused by upgrading. Therefore, verify that you havecurrent results for any of the following tests:• Mass compile logs—Mass compiling your VIs in the previous version of LabVIEW produces a

thorough log of broken VIs. This information is particularly useful if multiple people contribute tothe development of the VIs or if you suspect that some of the VIs have not been compiled recently.To generate this mass compile log, place a checkmark in the Log Results checkbox of theMassCompile dialog box. For more information about mass compiling VIs, refer to theFundamentals»Creating VIs and SubVIs»How-To»Saving VIs»Mass Compiling VIs topic onthe Contents tab of the LabVIEW Help.

• Unit tests that verify whether individual VIs perform their intended functions correctly• Integration tests that verify whether a project or group of subVIs work together as expected• Deployment tests that verify whether VIs behave as expected when deployed to a target, such as a

desktop or FPGA target• Performance tests that benchmark CPU usage, memory usage, and code execution speed. You can

use the Profile Performance and Memory window to obtain estimates of the average executionspeeds of your VIs.

© National Instruments 3 LabVIEW Upgrade Notes

• Stress tests that verify whether the VIs handle unexpected data correctly

For more information about testing VIs, refer to the Fundamentals»Application Development andDesign Guidelines»Concepts»Developing Large Applications»Phases of the DevelopmentModels»Testing Applications topic on the Contents tab of the LabVIEW Help.

Note If you changed any VIs as the result of testing, back up the new versions of the VIsbefore proceeding.

3. Install LabVIEW, Add-Ons, and Device Driversa. Install LabVIEW, Including Modules, Toolkits, and DriversWhen you upgrade to a new version of LabVIEW, youmust install not only the new development systembut also modules, toolkits, and drivers that are compatible with the new version. For instructions aboutinstalling this software in the appropriate order, refer to the LabVIEW Installation Guide.

b. Copy user.lib FilesTo ensure that custom controls and VIs you created in the previous version of LabVIEW are availableto VIs in LabVIEW 2015, copy files from the labview\user.lib directory in the previous version tothe labview\user.lib directory in LabVIEW 2015.

4. Convert Your VIs and Address Behavior ChangesMass compiling your VIs in LabVIEW 2015 converts the VIs to the new version of LabVIEW andcreates an error log to help you identify VIs that are broken. You can use this information in conjunctionwith the Upgrade and Compatibility Issues section of this document to identify and correct behaviorchanges associated with the new version of LabVIEW.

a. Mass Compile Your VIs in the New Version of LabVIEWMass compiling VIs simultaneously converts and saves the VIs in LabVIEW 2015. However, after masscompiling the VIs, you no longer can open the VIs in a previous version of LabVIEWwithout selectingFile»Save for Previous Version for each VI or project. Therefore, mass compile only the VIs that youwant to convert to the new version of LabVIEW. To help identify any problems that arose from upgrading,create a mass compile log by placing a checkmark in the Log Results checkbox of theMass Compiledialog box.

Note When you mass compile VIs that contain FPGA or real-time resources, theMassCompile dialog box may report the VIs as non-executable VIs. To check for errors, you mustopen the VIs under the FPGA or RT target in a LabVIEW project with the required FPGA orreal-time resources.

For more information about mass compiling VIs, refer to the following topics on the Contents tab ofthe LabVIEW Help:• Fundamentals»Creating VIs and SubVIs»How-To»Saving VIs»Mass Compiling VIs• Fundamentals»CreatingVIs and SubVIs»How-To»SavingVIs»CommonMassCompile Status

Messages

b. Fix Any Broken VIsImprovements between your previous version of LabVIEW and LabVIEW 2015 can occasionally causesomeVIs to break if they use outdated features. To quickly identify and fix broken VIs in LabVIEW2015,complete the following steps:1. To identify VIs that broke during upgrading, compare the mass compile error log you created in

the previous step to the log you created when testing the existing behavior of the VIs.


2. To determine whether updates to LabVIEW caused each VI to break, refer to the Upgrade andCompatibility Issues section of this document.

c. Identify and Correct Behavior ChangesAlthough National Instruments invests significant effort to avoid changing the behavior of VIs betweendifferent versions of LabVIEW, improvements and bug fixes occasionally do alter the behavior of VIs.To quickly identify whether the new version of LabVIEW changes the behavior of your VIs, use one ormore of the following tools:• Upgrade VI Analyzer Tests—For large sets of VIs, these tests provide an efficient way to identify

many behavior changes caused by upgrading. Complete the following steps to obtain and use thesetests:1. Download the Upgrade VI Analyzer Tests for all versions of LabVIEW later than your previous

version. Refer to the National Instruments website at ni.com/info and enter the Info Codeanalyzevi to download these tests.

2. Open and run the tests by selecting Tools»VI Analyzer»Analyze VIs and starting a new VIAnalyzer task. To analyze an entire project at once, select this menu option from the ProjectExplorer window rather than from a single VI.

3. Resolve test failures by referring to the Upgrade and Compatibility Issues section for theversion of LabVIEW that corresponds to the tests. For example, if the LabVIEW2011 UpgradeVI Analyzer tests locate a potential behavior change, refer to the Upgrading fromLabVIEW 2010 section of that topic.

• Upgrade documentation– Upgrade and Compatibility Issues section of this document—Lists changes that may break

or affect the behavior of your VIs. Refer to the subsections for each version of LabVIEWbeginning with your previous version.

Tip To quickly locate deprecated objects and other objects mentioned in theUpgradeand Compatibility Issues section, open your upgraded VIs and select Edit»Find andReplace.

– LabVIEW 2015 Known Issues list—Lists bugs discovered before and throughout the releaseof LabVIEW 2015. Refer to the National Instruments website at ni.com/info and enter theInfo Code lv2015ki to access this list. Refer to theUpgrade - Behavior Change andUpgrade- Migration sections, if available, to identify workarounds for any bugs that may affect thebehavior of upgraded VIs.

– Module and toolkit documentation—Lists upgrade issues specific to somemodules and toolkits,such as the LabVIEW FPGA Module and the LabVIEW Real-Time Module.

– Driver readme files—Lists upgrade issues specific to each driver. To locate each readme, referto the installation media for the driver.

Tip To determine whether a behavior change resulted from a driver update ratherthan an update to LabVIEW, test your VIs in the previous version of LabVIEW afterinstalling LabVIEW 2015.

• Your own tests—Perform the same tests on the VIs in LabVIEW 2015 that you performed in theprevious version and compare the results. If you identify new behaviors, refer to the upgradedocumentation to diagnose the source of the change.


Troubleshooting Common Upgrade IssuesRefer to the Upgrading to LabVIEW 2015»Troubleshooting Common Upgrade Issues topic on theContents tab of the LabVIEW Help for more information about solving the following upgrade issues:• Locating missing module or toolkit functionality• Locating missing subVIs, palettes, and Property Nodes• Determining why LabVIEW 2015 cannot open VIs from a previous version of LabVIEW• Determining which versions of NI software are installed• Restoring VIs to a previous version of LabVIEW

Upgrade and Compatibility IssuesRefer to the following sections for changes specific to different versions of LabVIEW that may breakor alter the behavior of your VIs.

Refer to the readme.html file in the labview directory for information about known issues in the newversion of LabVIEW, additional compatibility issues, and information about late-addition features inLabVIEW 2015.

Upgrading from LabVIEW 2009 or EarlierRefer to the National Instruments website at ni.com/info and enter the Info Code oldUpgradeIssuesto access upgrade and compatibility issues you might encounter when you upgrade to LabVIEW 2015from LabVIEW 2009 or earlier. Also, refer to the other Upgrading from LabVIEW x sections in thisdocument for information about other upgrade issues you might encounter.

Upgrading from LabVIEW 2010You might encounter the following compatibility issues when you upgrade to LabVIEW 2015 fromLabVIEW 2010. Refer to the Upgrading from LabVIEW 2011, Upgrading from LabVIEW 2012,Upgrading from LabVIEW 2013, and Upgrading from LabVIEW 2014 sections of this document forinformation about other upgrade issues you might encounter.

VI and Function Behavior ChangesIn LabVIEW 2011 and later, themulticast addr input of the UDPMulticast Open VI is a required input.Also, the port output is renamed port out.

Deprecated VIs, Functions, and NodesIn LabVIEW 2011 and later, the Zero Phase Filter VI no longer has the init/cont input in any of itspolymorphic instances. To use the new version of the VI, replace instances of the Zero Phase Filter VIfrom previous versions of LabVIEW with the VI of the same name from the Filters palette.

Property, Method, and Event Behavior ChangesThe behavior of the following properties, methods, and events changed in LabVIEW 2011 and later:• In LabVIEW 2010, the Clear Compiled Object Cache method clears the object cache associated

with a specific target. In LabVIEW 2011 and later, the Clear Compiled Object Cache method clearsthe entire user cache for the running version of LabVIEW. Therefore, although VIs created inLabVIEW 2010 that contain the Clear Compiled Object Cache method do not break inLabVIEW 2011 and later, they delete more VI object files than they did previously, which causesthe associated VIs to recompile when loaded.

• In LabVIEW 2010 and earlier, the NewRange event data field for the Scale Range Change eventignores custom offset and multiplier values you set for a graph or chart. In LabVIEW 2011 andlater, the NewRange event data field factors in custom offset and multiplier values in the results it


returns. If you use code to work around this issue in LabVIEW 2010 or earlier, you must updatethe upgraded version of the code.

Deprecated Properties, Methods, and EventsLabVIEW 2011 and later do not support the Subsystem From Selection method of the SimDiagramclass.

Migrating Build Specifications for Targets That Do Not Support SSE2 InstructionsTo migrate a build specification for a target that does not support SSE2 instructions to LabVIEW 2011or later, you must disable the SSE2 optimizations for the build specification. If you do not disable theoptimizations, LabVIEW still allows you to build the associated application, but the application cannotrun on the intended target.

Refer to the Fundamentals»Building and Distributing Applications»Configuring BuildSpecifications»Verifying That Target Hardware Supports SSE2 Instructions topic on theContentstab of the LabVIEW Help for information about which hardware types support SSE2 instructions.

Polymorphic VI Terminals That Support 64-bit and Double-Precision Numeric Data TypesIn LabVIEW2011 and later, if you wire extended-precision numeric data to the terminal of a polymorphicVI that supports both the double-precision numeric and 64-bit integer data types, LabVIEW coerces theextended-precision numeric data to double-precision data.

This behavior matches the behavior in LabVIEW 8.5 and 8.6. However, in LabVIEW 8.0, 8.2, 2009,and 2010, LabVIEW selects the 64-bit integer data type instead of the double-precision data type.

Improved Error Reporting for Certain LabVIEW Shared LibrariesWhen you call a LabVIEW shared library with the Call Library Function Node in previous versions ofLabVIEW, the shared library fails to execute on target computers that do not have required resourcesinstalled. However, in those situations, the shared libraries do not automatically return an error orotherwise indicate that execution failed. In LabVIEW 2011 and later, when the Call Library FunctionNode calls these shared libraries, LabVIEW returns an error to indicate the failure. Therefore, affectedLabVIEW shared libraries that misleadingly do not return an error in LabVIEW 2010 and earlier doreturn an error in LabVIEW 2011 and later.

This error-reporting enhancement affects, but is not limited to, VIs that call LabVIEW shared librarieswith any of the following characteristics:• A VI inside the shared library uses licensed features that are not installed on the target computer.• A VI inside the shared library uses a Call Library Function Node whose associated shared library

is not installed on the target computer.• TheVIs inside the shared library were compiled using the SSE2 optimizations but the target computer

does not support SSE2 instructions.

Changes to the Locations LabVIEW Searches for NI Example Finder Data FilesLabVIEW 2011 and later search for NI Example Finder data files (.bin3) in fewer locations thanprevious versions of LabVIEW. To ensure LabVIEW finds example VIs you create for the NI ExampleFinder, you must place the .bin3 files in one of the following directories:• labview\examples\exbins—Previous versions of LabVIEW allowed you to place the .bin3

files anywhere within the examples directory.• labview\instr.lib

• labview\user.lib


Compatibility Issues with LabVIEW 2011 and Additional National Instruments SoftwareYou must use NI Spy 2.3 or later or NI I/O Trace 3.0 in LabVIEW 2011. NI Spy was renamed NI I/OTrace after NI Spy 2.7.2. NI I/O Trace is available on the NI Device Drivers media.

LabVIEW 2011 supports Measurement Studio 8.0 and later. Refer to the National Instruments websiteat ni.com/info and enter the Info Code exd8yy to access the Upgrade Advisor and purchaseMeasurement Studio 8.0 or later.

Upgrading from LabVIEW 2011You might encounter the following compatibility issues when you upgrade to LabVIEW 2015 fromLabVIEW 2011. Refer to the Upgrading from LabVIEW 2012, Upgrading from LabVIEW 2013, andUpgrading from LabVIEW 2014 sections of this document for information about other upgrade issuesyou might encounter.

Transferring Flattened Data between Different Versions of LabVIEWIn LabVIEW 2011 and earlier, you transfer data between versions of LabVIEW using the Flatten ToString and Unflatten From String functions. In LabVIEW 2012, use the VariantFlattenExp VI in thelabview\vi.lib\Utility directory to transfer this data. The VariantFlattenExp VI accepts a hexinteger of the target version of LabVIEW to which you want to transfer data.

Deprecated VIs, Functions, and NodesLabVIEW 2012 and later do not support the following VIs, functions, and nodes:• Polar Plot—Use the Polar Plot with Point Options VI instead. The Polar Plot with Point Options

VI provides two new inputs, Lines/Points and Size.• Draw Rect—Use the Draw Rectangle VI instead.

Property, Method, and Event Behavior ChangesIn the Set Cell Value method of the Table class, the X Index and Y Index inputs changed from 32-bitunsigned integers to 32-bit signed integers.

Deprecated Properties, Methods, and EventsLabVIEW 2012 and later do not support the following properties, methods, and events:• Create from Data Type method of the Diagram class. If you upgrade a VI that contains this method,

the VI now calls the Create from Data Type (Deprecated) method. Replace the deprecated methodwith the new Create from Data Type method, which no longer includes the style input.

• Frames[] property of the TimeFlatSequence class. Use the Frames[] property of the FlatSequenceclass instead.

• Front Panel Window:Open property of the VI class. Use the Front Panel:Open method, the FrontPanel:Close method, or the Front Panel Window:State property instead.

• FPWinOpen property of the VI (ActiveX) class. Use the OpenFrontPanel method, theCloseFrontPanel method, or the FPState property instead.

• StaticMember VIs property of the LVClassLibrary class. Use the new version of the StaticMemberVIs[] property instead.

• Dynamic Member VIs property of the LVClassLibrary class. Use the new version of the DynamicMember VIs[] property instead.

Renamed Properties, Methods, and EventsThe following properties, methods, and events are renamed in LabVIEW 2012 and later.


TypeLabVIEW 2012 and Later

NameLabVIEW 2011 NameClass

PropertyOwned Items[]Children[]ProjectItem

PropertyOwnerParentProjectItem

PropertyAncestor Restricts ReferenceCreation

AncestorControlRefsLVClassLibrary

Upgrading from LabVIEW 2012You might encounter the following compatibility issues when you upgrade to LabVIEW 2015 fromLabVIEW 2012. Refer to the Upgrading from LabVIEW 2013 and Upgrading from LabVIEW 2014sections of this document for information about other upgrade issues you might encounter.

VI and Function Behavior ChangesThe behavior of the following VIs and functions changed in LabVIEW 2013.

Web Services VIsThe following VIs on the Web Services palette are rewritten in LabVIEW 2013. The VIs include aLabVIEWWeb Service Request input, which replaces the httpRequestID input. To use the newfunctionality, replace the deprecated VIs with VIs of the same name from the Web Services palette.• Web Services palette:

– Read All Form Data– Read All Request Variables– Read Form Data– Read Postdata– Read Request Variable– Read Uploaded Files Info

• Output subpalette:– Flush Output– Render ESP Template– Set ESP Variable– Set HTTP Header– Set HTTP Redirect– Set HTTP Response Code– Set HTTP Response MIME Type– Write Response

• Security subpalette:– Decrypt– Encrypt– Get Auth Details

• Sessions subpalette:– Check If Session Exists– Create Session– Delete Session Variable– Destroy Session– Get Session ID Cookie


– Read All Session Variables– Read Session Variables– Write Session Variables

Changes to the Behavior of the Event Structure Timeout Terminal for Non-Handled, DynamicallyRegistered EventsIn LabVIEW2012 and earlier, when you dynamically register for events, any event you do not configurethe Event structure to handle can reset the timeout terminal when that event occurs. For example, if youuse the Register For Events function to register for the Mouse Up, Mouse Down, and Mouse Moveevents but configure an Event structure to handle only the Mouse Up and Mouse Down events, thetimeout terminal resets when the Mouse Move event occurs.

Note The timeout terminal resets only if you wire a value to that terminal.

In LabVIEW 2013, non-handled, dynamically registered events do not reset the Event structure timeoutterminal.

Changes to the Default .NET FrameworkIn LabVIEW 2013, creating and communicating with .NET objects requires the .NET Framework 4.0.The .NET Framework 4.0 allows you to load pure managed assemblies built in any version of the .NETFramework and mixed-mode assemblies built in .NET 4.0. The LabVIEW 2013 installer includes the.NET Framework 4.0. However, if you uninstall the .NET Framework 4.0 or attempt to load assembliesthat target a different version of the .NET Framework, LabVIEWmay return an error when you attemptto create or communicate with .NET objects.

LabVIEW 2013 loads the Common Language Runtime (CLR) 4.0 by default. However, you can forceLabVIEW to load .NET mixed-mode assemblies that target the CLR 2.0.

Refer to the Fundamentals»Windows Connectivity»How-To».NET»Loading .NET 2.0, 3.0, and 3.5Assemblies in LabVIEW topic on the Contents tab of the LabVIEW Help for more information aboutloading assemblies in LabVIEW.

Changes to the System ButtonIn LabVIEW 2012 and earlier, when you add the system button to the front panel from the Systempalette, the return key toggles the value by default. In LabVIEW 2013, LabVIEW does not providedefault key binding for the system button.

Changes to the Value and Value (Signaling) PropertiesIn LabVIEW 2012 and earlier, if you set the value of a latched Boolean control with the Value or Value(Signaling) property, LabVIEW returns an error. However, if you change the latched Boolean controlto a type definition, LabVIEW no longer returns an error. In LabVIEW 2013, to avoid race conditions,the Value and Value (Signaling) properties always return an error if you attempt to set the value of alatched Boolean control.

Improvements to the Performance of Conditional TunnelsIn LabVIEW 2012, you can use the Conditional tunnel option to include only the values you specifyin each output tunnel of a loop, but National Instruments recommends you consider alternatives to theconditional tunnel in parts of the application where performance is critical. In LabVIEW 2013,performance improvements to conditional tunnels reduce memory allocations for theConditional tunneloption.


Wiring Custom Controls to a SubpanelLabVIEW returns an error if you wire a custom control to the Insert VI method in the SubPanel class.To wire a custom control to a subpanel, add the control to the front panel of a VI and wire that VI to thesubpanel.

Using NI Web-Based Configuration & Monitoring with SSLIn LabVIEW 2012 and earlier, you view and edit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates and SigningRequests (CSRs) from the NI Distributed System Manager. The Distributed System Manager no longersupports this functionality.

You now can create, edit, view, and remove SSL certificates and CSRs fromNIWeb-based Configuration& Monitoring. From the NI Web-based Configuration & Monitoring utility, navigate to the Web ServerConfiguration page and display the SSL Certificate Management tab to manage your SSL certificatesand CSRs.

Creating and Publishing LabVIEW Web ServicesIn LabVIEW 2013, you no longer use RESTful Web service build specifications to create Web servicesor to configure properties, such as URL mappings, for Web services. You can continue to use buildspecifications you created in LabVIEW 2012 or earlier, or you can convert them to Web service projectitems. To download a tool that performs the conversion, visit ni.com/info and enter the Info CodeConvertWS.

If you convert a Web service to the LabVIEW 2013 format, you can access most of the options fromLabVIEW 2012 and earlier for configuring a Web service build specification by right-clicking the Webservice project item in a project and selecting Properties. However, the following table describes Webservice behaviors and options available in LabVIEW 2012 and earlier that are changed or removed inLabVIEW 2013.

LabVIEW 2013LabVIEW 2012 and Earlier

The concept of Web method VIs is renamed HTTP method VIs.The termWeb method VI refers to the VIs that receive HTTP requestsfrom clients and return data to clients.

Use the exact service name to access the Web service.You can define service aliases for the Web service name, whichcustomize the URL clients use to access the service.

You can map only a single URL to an HTTP method VI. To allowmultiple URLs to invoke the same VI, use it as a subVI in multipleHTTP method VIs, each of which has its own URL mapping.

You can map multiple URLs to a Web method VI.

This option is removed because you cannot map multiple URLs to anHTTP method VI. Thus you cannot create alternate URL mappingsthat rely on the override behavior.

You can specify values that override the default values of connectorpane terminals of the VI.

The concept of auxiliary VIs is renamed startup VIs. LabVIEWconsiders all VIs you place under the Startup VIs project item in theproject to be startup VIs.

You can mark VIs in the project as auxiliary VIs, meaning theyexchange data with Web method VIs but are not exposed to clients.

This option is removed.You can disable "stand-alone" deployment for a Web service, whichmeans the Web service is only deployed when the LabVIEWdevelopment system is open.

This feature is not available because you do not build Web servicesfrom build specifications.

You can set VIs to run as pre- and post-build steps that run when youbuild the Web service.


Changes to the Queued Message Handler TemplateThe error handling scheme of the Queued Message Handler template changed in LabVIEW 2013. Inthe new error handling scheme, each loop handles errors using a loop-specific error handler subVI. Ifan error occurs in the Message Handling Loop, LabVIEW displays an error message.

Changes to the Continuous Measurement and Logging Sample ProjectThe error handling scheme of the Continuous Measurement and Logging sample project changed inLabVIEW 2013. In the new error handling scheme, each loop handles errors using a loop-specific errorhandler subVI. If an error occurs in the Message Handling Loop, LabVIEW displays an error message.

In LabVIEW 2013 and later, the Acquisition Message Loop and Logging Message Loop include statechecking to handle cases where the loop receives a Start message when it has already started, or a Stopmessage when it has already stopped.

Upgrading from LabVIEW 2013You might encounter the following compatibility issues when you upgrade to LabVIEW 2015 fromLabVIEW 2013. Refer to the Upgrading from LabVIEW 2014 section of this document for informationabout other upgrade issues you might encounter.

Behavior Change in the String to Path FunctionIn LabVIEW 2014 and later, the String To Path function is case insensitive when reading any variationof the string <Not A Path> and always returns a constant value of <Not A Path>. For example, youcan specify <not a path> or <Not A Path> in the string input, and in both cases, the function returnsa constant value of <Not A Path>. Refer to the following table for more information about how theString to Path function behaves in previous versions of LabVIEW.

LabVIEW 2011 and EarlierLabVIEW 2012 and 2013

Like LabVIEW 2014 and later, the String To Path function is caseinsensitive and returns the constant value of <Not A Path> when youspecify any variation of the string <Not A Path>. Whether youspecify <not a path> or <Not a Path>, the function returnsthe constant value of <Not A Path>.

Regardless of case, the String To Path function does not return aconstant value of <Not A Path>. You can specify any variation of thestring <Not A Path>, and the function returns a path to a directorynamed <Not A Path> instead of returning a constant value of<Not A Path>.

Reviewing and Updating Type DefinitionsThe Review and Update from Type Def shortcut menu item replaces the Update from Type Defshortcut menu item that appears in LabVIEW 2013 and earlier.

Deprecated VIs, Functions, and NodesLabVIEW 2014 and later do not support the following VIs, functions, and nodes.

Apple Event VIs(OS X) LabVIEW 2014 and later no longer support Apple Event VIs. Instead, use the Run AppleScriptCode VI on the Libraries & Executables palette to communicate with OS X applications external toLabVIEW. If you attempt to load a VI that contains any of the following Apple Event VIs, LabVIEWmay generate errors and be unable to run the VI:• AESend Do Script• AESend Finder Open• AESend Open• AESend Open Document• AESend Print Document• AESend Quit Application


• Get Target ID• AESend Abort• AESend Close• AESend Open, Run, Close• AESend Run• AESend VI Active?• AECreate Comp Descriptor• AECreate Descriptor List• AECreate Logical Descriptor• AECreate Object Specifier• AECreate Range Descriptor• AECreate Record• AESend• Make Alias

Actor Framework VIsLabVIEW 2014 and later do not support the Actor:Launch Actor VI. Use the Actor:Launch Root ActorVI or Actor:Launch Nested Actor VI instead.

In Port and Out Port VIsLabVIEW 2014 and later do not support the In Port and Out Port VIs.

Deprecated Properties, Methods, and EventsLabVIEW 2014 and later do not support the Get VI:Old Help Info method of the Application class.Instead, use the Get VI:Help Info method to return help information from the Documentation page ofthe VI Properties dialog box for a specified VI.

Upgrading from LabVIEW 2014You might encounter the following compatibility issues when you upgrade to LabVIEW 2015 fromLabVIEW 2014.

Identifying Buffer Allocations in LabVIEW ApplicationsLabVIEW 2014 Service Pack 1 and later include the Profile Buffer Allocationswindow to identify andanalyze buffer allocations in a LabVIEW application. Select Tools»Profile»Profile Buffer Allocationsto display this window.

Hyperlinks in Free LabelsLabVIEW 2015 detects URLs in free labels and converts them to hyperlinks underlined in blue text.LabVIEW does not automatically convert URLs in free labels to hyperlinks when you upgrade fromLabVIEW 2014 or earlier. To enable hyperlinks in front panel labels, right-click the free label and selectEnable Hyperlinks in the shortcut menu. You cannot enable or disable block diagram labels.

Deprecated VIs, Functions, and NodesLabVIEW 2015 does not support the following VIs, functions, and nodes.• Read From Spreadsheet File—Use the Read Delimited Spreadsheet VI instead.• Write To Spreadsheet File—Use the Write Delimited Spreadsheet VI instead.


LabVIEW 2015 Features and ChangesThe Idea Exchange icon denotes a new feature idea that originates from a product feedback suggestionon the NI Idea Exchange discussion forums. Refer to the National Instruments website at ni.com/infoand enter the Info Code ex3gus to access the NI Idea Exchange discussion forums.

Refer to the readme.html file in the labview directory for known issues, a partial list of bugs fixed,additional compatibility issues, and information about late-addition features in LabVIEW 2015.

Adding Custom Items to Shortcut MenusYou can add custom items to the shortcut menu of front panel and block diagram objects by creatingshortcut menu plug-ins. You can create shortcut menu plug-ins that appear when you right-click edit-timefront panel and block diagram objects or when you right-click run-time block diagram objects.

Figure 2.

To create a shortcut menu plug-in, open the following utility VI and follow the instructions on the VIfront panel: labview\resource\plugins\PopupMenus\Create Shortcut Menu Plug-inFrom Template.vi

The utility VI generates the files you need for your plug-in. Customize the files to build the shortcutmenu and execute the plug-in.

LabVIEW 2015 includes the following plug-ins.• Change To Array Or Element—Converts a scalar value to an array of that type, or converts

an array to a scalar of its element type. This plug-in affects controls, indicators, control and indicatorterminals, and constants. This plug-in supports multi-object selection. [Idea submitted by NIDiscussion Forums member David_L.]


Figure 3.

• Empty Listboxes—Removes all rows from a listbox or multicolumn listbox. This plug-in affectslistboxes and multicolumn listboxes on the front panel. This plug-in supports multi-object selection.

• Explore—Navigates to the file location on disk of a subVI, class, or typedef. This plug-in affectssubVIs, class controls and indicators, class control and indicator terminals, class constants, typedefcontrols and indicators, typedef control and indicator terminals, and typedef constants.

• Remove and Rewire Objects—Removes the selected block diagram object and any wires andconstants connected to the selected object, and connects wires of identical data types that werewired to the inputs and outputs of the deleted object. This plug-in affects any block diagram objectthat you can delete. This plug-in supports multi-object selection.

• Size Array Constants To Contents—Resizes the width of an array constant to match the widthof the widest element in the array. This plug-in affects array constants. [Idea submitted by NIDiscussion Forums member blawson.]

• Transpose 2D Array—Transposes the contents of a 2D array. This plug-in affects 2D arraycontrols, indicators, and constants. This plug-in supports multi-object selection. [Idea submittedby NI Discussion Forums member moderator1983.]

• Wire All Unwired Terminals—Creates controls, indicators, or constants for all unwired inputsand outputs of the selected block diagram object. This plug-in affects any block diagram objectyou can wire. This plug-in supports multi-object selection.

Refer to the Fundamentals»LabVIEW Environment»How-To»Understanding Shortcut MenuPlug-Ins topic on the Contents tab in the LabVIEW Help for information about how to add customitems to shortcut menus.

Improvements to Adding or Reducing Space on the Front Panel or Block DiagramLabVIEW 2015 includes usability improvements that make adding space easier and allow you to reducespace from the front panel or block diagram.

To increase the space between tightly grouped objects, press <Ctrl> and drag in the direction you wantto add space. (OS X) Press <Option>. To reduce space between scattered objects, press <Ctrl-Alt> anddrag in the direction you want to decrease the space. (OS X) Press <Option-Ctrl>. The objects move inreal time as you drag the mouse. If the direction in which you drag is primarily vertical or horizontal,the operation snaps to the dominant direction.


Figure 4.

Probe EnhancementsLabVIEW 2015 includes the following enhancements to probes.• Most probe displays scale to fit the Probe Display subpanel of the Probe Watch Window.• Generic probes for array data display multiple elements. Scrollbars display if elements do not fit

the Probe Display subpanel.• The default probe for string data is a custom probe. Right-click a wire and select Custom

Probe»Default String Probe from the shortcut menu to use the default string probe. You canchoose the string display types by clicking the gray bar on the left of the Probe Display subpanel.

Refer to theFundamentals»GroupingDataUsing Strings, Arrays, andClusters»Concepts»GroupingData with Strings topic on the Contents tab in the LabVIEW Help for information about string displaytypes.

Hyperlinks in Free LabelsIn LabVIEW2015, LabVIEWdetects URLs in free labels and converts them to hyperlinks underlined

in blue text. You can click and open a hyperlink in the default web browser. LabVIEW 2015 enableshyperlinks by default. To disable hyperlinks in front panel labels, right-click the free label and deselectEnable Hyperlinks in the shortcut menu. You cannot disable hyperlinks in block diagram labels.

[Idea submitted by NI Discussion Forums member Rick L.]

Creating Actor Framework Actor and Message ClassesTo create Actor Framework actor and message classes, you no longer need to load a project that usesthe Actor Framework. You can use the new shortcut menu options in the Project Explorer window tocreate Actor Framework actor and message classes. The shortcut menu options in the Project Explorerwindow replace the Actor Framework Message Maker dialog box.• To create an actor class, right-click a target in the Project Explorerwindow and selectNew»Actor

from the shortcut menu.• To create a message class, right-click a public method VI of an actor class and select Actor

Framework»Create Message from the shortcut menu. You also can right-click multiple publicmethod VIs and select Actor Framework»Create Messages from the shortcut menu to create amessage class for each public method VI that you select.

• To create a message class for each public method VI of an actor class, right-click an actor classand select Actor Framework»Create Messages for Actor from the shortcut menu. You also canright-click multiple actor classes and select Create Messages for Actors from the shortcut menuto create a message class for each public method VI of the actor classes that you select.


• To create an abstract message class for an actor class, right-click an actor class and select ActorFramework»Create Abstract Message for Caller from the shortcut menu. The abstract messageclass defines only the message data but not the actor class to receive the message class.– You must create an abstract message class before you can create a child message class of the

abstract message class. To create a child message class, right-click a public method VI of theactor class that will receive the abstract message class and select Actor Framework»CreateChild of Abstract Message. The actor class that receives the abstract message class can usethe new child message class to communicate with the actor class that sends the abstract messageclass. The actor class that sends the abstract message class does not have to know which actorclass will receive the abstract message class and how the actor class will receive the messageclass.

• To rebuild an existing message class after the connector pane of the corresponding method VIchanges, right-click a message class and select Actor Framework»Rescript Message from theshortcut menu.

Front Panel EnhancementsLabVIEW 2015 includes the following enhancements to the front panel.

Skipping Error In Clusters When TabbingIn LabVIEW 2015, the new error in clusters by default include a checkmark in the Skip this controlwhen tabbing option in theKey Navigation page of the Properties dialog box. When you press <Tab>on a running VI, LabVIEW skips the error in cluster controls. To include the error in clusters in thetabbing order, remove the checkmark from this option.

Note For error in clusters upgraded from previous versions of LabVIEW, youmust manuallyenable this option to skip the controls when tabbing.

Environment EnhancementsLabVIEW 2015 includes the following enhancements to the LabVIEW environment.

Improvements to Compiler OptimizationsIn LabVIEW 2015, compiler optimizations improve the execution performance of large VIs above theVI code complexity threshold. These improvements may slow the compile time. You can adjust thecomplexity threshold in the Compiler section on the Environment page of the Options dialog box.Changing the complexity threshold will continue to influence the compiler optimizations profile usedwhen compiling VIs based on the VI code complexity relative to the threshold.

Refer to the Fundamentals»Managing Performance and Memory»How-To»Choosing betweenEditor Responsiveness and VI Execution Speed topic on the Contents tab in the LabVIEW Help forinformation about adjusting the complexity threshold.

Listing Missing Components After Loading VIsWhen loading VIs, LabVIEW no longer prompts you to locate VIs from missing components, such asLabVIEW modules, toolkits, and drivers, and third-party add-ons. After LabVIEW loads the VIs, youcan click Show Details in the LoadWarning Summary dialog box or the Save for PreviousWarningSummary dialog box or select View»Load and Save Warning List to display the Load and SaveWarning List dialog box. The Load and Save Warning List dialog box includes the newMissingComponents section, which lists the missing components that LabVIEW needs when loading the VIs.


Miscellaneous Environment EnhancementsLabVIEW 2015 includes the following miscellaneous environment enhancements:• You can use the Error Ring in a subVI that is inlined into its calling VIs.• LabVIEW 2015 includes an upgraded version of Math Kernel Library (MKL) 11.1.3 software for

Windows and Linux. MKL is third-party software that LabVIEW uses to improve performance oflinear algebra VIs. For more information regardingMKL, refer to the Intel Developer Zone websiteat software.intel.com/en-us/intel-mkl.

Miscellaneous Dialog Box EnhancementsLabVIEW 2015 includes the following miscellaneous dialog box enhancements:• The Additional Installers page of the Installer Properties dialog box includes the new Only

display runtime installers checkbox, which filters the run-time installers to display. Place acheckmark in this checkbox to view run-time installers only. This option is enabled by default.

• The Find Project Items dialog box includes the new Export button. Click this button to exportsearch results to a text file.

New and Changed VIs and FunctionsLabVIEW 2015 includes the following new and changed VIs and functions.

Refer to the VI and Function Reference book on the Contents tab of the LabVIEW Help for moreinformation about VIs, functions, and nodes.

New VIs and FunctionsLabVIEW 2015 includes the following new VIs and functions.

Advanced TDMS VIs and FunctionsThe Advanced TDMS palette includes the new TDMS In Memory subpalette, which you can use toopen, close, read from, and write to .tdms files in memory. This subpalette includes the followingfunctions:• TDMS In Memory Close• TDMS In Memory Open• TDMS In Memory Read Bytes

The Advanced TDMS palette also includes the new TDMS Delete Data function. Use this function todelete data from a channel or multiple channels in a group.

Data Type Parsing VIsThe Variant palette includes the new Data Type Parsing subpalette, which includes the following VIs:• Check for Contained Data Type• Disconnect Type Definitions• Get Array Information• Get Cluster Information• Get Fixed-Point Information• Get LabVIEW Class Information• Get Numeric Information• Get Polymorphic VI Information• Get Refnum Information• Get Tag Information• Get Type Definition Path• Get Type Information


• Get User-Defined Refnum Information• Get User-Defined Tag Information• Get VI Information• Get Waveform Information• Is or Contains Type Definition

Use the Data Type Parsing VIs to retrieve the data type of a variant and information about the data type.You also can check whether the data type of a variant matches a specific data type.

Reading from and Writing to Delimited SpreadsheetsThe File I/O palette includes the following new VIs:• Read Delimited Spreadsheet—Reads from delimited text files. This VI replaces the Read From

Spreadsheet File VI.• Write Delimited Spreadsheet—Converts data to a delimited text string and writes the string to a

file. This VI replaces the Write To Spreadsheet File VI.

Figure 5.

Miscellaneous New VIs and FunctionsLabVIEW 2015 includes the following miscellaneous new VIs and functions:• The DiscreteMath palette includes the new Check Prime VI. Use this VI to check whether a number

is a prime number.• The Advanced File palette includes the new Create File with Incrementing Suffix VI. Use this VI

to create a file and append an incrementing number suffix to the filename if the file already existsat a specified path.

• The Dialog & User Interface palette includes the newWrite to System Log VI. Use this VI to writeerror log messages to the nierrlog system log. You can view the messages using the systemlog viewer for your operating system. (NI Linux Real-Time) Open the System Log Viewer pageof NI Web-based Configuration & Monitoring.

Miscellaneous VI and Function ChangesLabVIEW 2015 includes the following miscellaneous VI and function changes:• Get File Extension—This VI includes the new unmodified file extension output, which returns

the extension of the file you specify in file, without the period (.).

Application Builder EnhancementsLabVIEW 2015 includes the following enhancements to the LabVIEW Application Builder and buildspecifications.


(Windows) Building Shared Libraries with Type LibrariesLabVIEW 2015 provides an updated Application Builder that allows you to explicitly specify whetherto embed a type library when you build shared libraries (DLLs). If you use TestStand or the LabVIEWCall Library Function Node, youmust manually enable this option by placing a checkmark in the Includea type library for TestStand or Call Library Nodes checkbox on the Advanced page of the SharedLibrary Properties dialog box. The TestStand C/C++ DLL Adapter, LabWindows/CVI Adapter, andthe LabVIEWCall Library Function Node use the type library to display a list of functions in the sharedlibrary, including the parameters and data types for the functions. You must install additional tools toembed a type library. Visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code DownloadMSDTBuildTools toaccess the additional tools.

Improving Load Time for LabVIEW-Built Applications and Shared LibrariesYou can build stand-alone applications (EXE) and DLLs that load faster by using the fast file format inLabVIEW.

To use the fast file format, place a checkmark in the Use fast file format checkbox on the Advancedpage of the Shared Library Properties dialog box or the Application Properties dialog box. Thisoption is disabled by default.When you enable the fast file format, LabVIEWdoes not use theApplicationBuilder object cache. Therefore, stand-alone applications and shared libraries may take longer to build.

Note To use the fast file format, ensure that the Enable debugging checkbox on theAdvanced page does not contain a checkmark.

New and Changed Classes, Properties, Methods, and EventsLabVIEW 2015 includes the following new and changed classes, properties, methods, and events.

VI Server Properties and MethodsLabVIEW 2015 includes the following new VI Server properties and methods:• Enable Hyperlinks property (class: Text)—Reads or writes the setting that controls whether Text

detects URLs in free labels and converts them to a hyperlink underlined in blue text.• Disconnect Terminal method (class:Wire)—Disconnects a terminal from the wire without removing

the loose end.• Found Dependency Names property (class: GObject)—Reads an array of the qualified names of

all external file dependencies that are loaded into memory of an object. For example, a control mayhave a dependency upon a .ctl or a .xctl file. If that dependency is in memory, its qualifiedname is included in the array.

• Found Dependency Paths property (class: GObject)—Reads an array of the paths of all the externalfile dependencies that are loaded into memory of an object. For example, a control may have adependency upon a .ctl or a .xctl file. If that dependency is in memory, its path is included inthe array.

• Missing Dependency Names property (class: GObject)—Reads an array of the qualified names ofall the external file dependencies that are missing of an object. For example, a control may have adependency upon a .ctl or a .xctl file. If that dependency is missing, its qualified name isincluded in the array.

• Missing Dependency Paths property (class: GObject)—Reads an array of the paths of all the externalfile dependencies that are missing of an object. For example, a control may have a dependencyupon a .ctl or a .xctl file. If that dependency is missing, its path is included in the array.

• Missing VI Name property (class: SubVI)—Reads the qualified name of the VI that a subVI nodecalls if and only if that VI is missing. Otherwise, returns an empty string.


• Missing VI Path property (class: SubVI)—Reads the path of the VI that a subVI node calls if andonly if that VI is missing. Otherwise, returns an empty string.

• Value (Undoable) property (class: Control)—Has the same effect as writing the Value property ofa control except the scripting transaction system registers the write, which allows you to undo thevalue change. This property is write only.

• Default Value (Undoable) property (class: Control)—Has the same effect as writing the DefaultValue property of a control except the scripting transaction system registers the write, which allowsyou to undo the value change. This property is write only.

Features and Changes in Previous Versions of LabVIEWTo identify new features in each version of LabVIEW that released since your previous version, reviewthe upgrade notes for those versions. To access these documents, refer to the National Instrumentswebsite at ni.com/info and enter the Info Code for the appropriate LabVIEW version from thefollowing list:• LabVIEW 2011 Upgrade Notes—upnote11

• LabVIEW 2012 Upgrade Notes—upnote12




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